Machine for attaching welts to soles



Dec. 14, 1937. F|E| D MACHINE FOR ATTACHING WELTS TO SOLES Filed Dec. 5, 1935 s Sheets-Sheet 1 v ,iiz rmar. Z gfmwifiyigm 1/ mwy, M32,

w I Mm" II II II II Dec. 14, 1937. 5 E, 2,101,990

MACHINE FOR ATTACHING WELTS TO SOLES R Filed Dec. 5, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet? uumu I QQ r Dec. 14, 1937.

E. E. E'IELD MACHINE FOR ATTACHING WELTS TO SOLES 5 Sheets-sheaf 3 Filed Dec. 5, 1955 &\\\

TQM 3m, w

Patented Dec. 14, 1937 PATENT OFFICE MASHINE FOR ATTACHING WELTS TO SOLES Ernest E. Field, Brockton, Mass., assignor to Charles S. Walkup, Jr., Boston, Mass, as

trustee Application December 5, 1935, Serial No. 52,994

9 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine for attaching welts to soles.

Heretofore, machines of this general character have been used for attaching a welt to an outer sole temporarily in preparation for permanently securing them together by a line of stitching around the edge of the sole, commonly termed welt stitching. Generally, the welt has been in the form of a fiat strip of leather, the engaging surface of the welt and the margin of the sole being previously coated with cement, and these parts are run between a pair of cooperating pressure rolls in order to press them together. One difiiculty, however, has been encountered in the use of such machines, namely, that the pressure which is exerted both upon the sole and the welt by the pressure rolls, tends to curve the sole longitudinally so that when it is straightened out, the welt is apt to break away more or less from the margin of the sole. While this objection can be remedied by the welt stitching, such machines are not adapted for permanently attaching a welt to a solo by cement alone.

The general object of my invention is the provision of a simple and efiicient machine of the character described whereby a previously cemented welt and sole may be permanently fastened together by pressure to form a unitary structure.

A more specific object of the invention is the provision of means whereby the amount of pressure exerted upon the work may be easily varied to suit varying conditions of work.

Another object'is the provision of means whereby the pressure may be directed to the welt alone in order to prevent any curling or warping of the sole due to pressure directly exerted upon it.

Other objects of the invention will. be described hereinafter.

My invention contemplates in a machine of the foregoing character the provision of a pair of pressure rolls, preferably in vertical alignment, between which the work is fed, one of said rolls being axially fixed and the other, preferably the upper, being axially movable toward and from the fixed roll with resilient means for forcing the movable roll toward the fixed roll to exert pressure on the work and means for limiting the said movement to relieve a part of the work from direct pressure.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the upper roll is fixed on a shaft adapted to rotate in a hearing which is pivotally mounted to permit said roll to move in relation to the fixed roll and a heavy duty spring under compression is applied to the bearing forcing it downwardly to move the movable roll toward the fixed roll to exert the desired pressure, which spring is adjustable in order to vary the pressure. To limit the movement of the movable roll toward the fixed roll in order to relieve a part of the work from any direct pressure, a screw stop is provided, which stop is adjustable to vary the normal distance between the two rolls for taking care of work of different thicknesses. For directing pressure to a part of the work, such as a welt, the periphery or face of the movable roll has an annular portion which is recessed to fit the top surface of the welt; said recess, however, being of less depth than the thickness of the welt so that all direct pressure is confined to the welt.

In the accompanying drawings, there is shown for the purpose of illustrating my invention, a machine constructed and adapted to be operated in accordance therewith, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine as viewed from the position of the operator showing a piece of work therein;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation, looking from left to right in Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the same;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view on line 5-5 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view on line 66 in Fig. 3;

Fig. '7 is a horizontal sectional view on line 'l'| in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional View on an enlarged scale of the forepart of a sole having a welt attached thereto.

Referring to the drawings, the frame of the machine comprises an upright standard I0, mounted on an extended base H. The top end of the standard i is provided with two upwardly extending walls l2 and 13, between which is pivotally mounted on a pin 1 carried by said walls, a bearing l6 having an ofiset portion ll.

Rotatably mounted in suitable bores in the top of the standard Ill and in the offset portion ll of the bearing 56, are two shafts l8 and I9 respectively, the former of which has fixed on one end a lower pressure roll 20 and on its other end, a gear wheel 2| and the latter of which has similarly fixed on one end an upper pressure roll 22 adapted to cooperate with the roll 20, and on its other end, a gear wheel 23, meshing with the gear wheel 2| (Fig. 5). A spacing collar 24 is mounted on the shaft l9 between the portion I1 and the gear wh el 23 by a set screw 25.

The lower roll 29 is axially a fixed roll but the upper roll 22 is axially movable in relation to it due to the fact that the bearing 56 is pivotally movable. Since the pivot point is? is adjacent the gear wheels, the movement of the gear wheel 23 in relation to the gear wheel 2 l when the bearing is rocked on its pivot, is of small range compared to the movement of the roll 22 in relation to the roll 25. Because of this fact, the roll 22 has a range of movement varying conditions of with the cooperative wheels.

In order to direct the pressure to the welt alone, a portion of the periphery or face of the movable and is fastened to the shaft work without int rfering functioning of the gear roll 22 is recessed to fit the welt, the floor of the recess comprising a transversely inclined annular portion 26 (Fig. 3) and an annular portion 2? parallel with the axis of the roll. The recessed portion is on the inner portion of said face and is of less depth than the thickness of the welt upon which it acts. The remaining portion 23 of said face is parallel with said axis. The periphery or face 29 of the roll 2% is parallel to axis and is preferably of brass or other soft metal which will not mark or score the work.

Preferably, the gear wheel 23 is somewhat smaller than the gear wheel the'ratio of their diameters being approximately seven to nine, but this ratio is merely approximate an may be varied to some extent. Because of this ratio, the movable roll 22 rotates at a slightly greater speed than the fixed roll 26 and I have found that I get better results with this difference in speed than when the rolls rotate at the same speed.

For forcing the movable rolltow-ard the fixed roll to exert pressure upon the work, a helical spring 30 is provided for exertinga constant downward pressure on the pivoted bearing it. The spring is mounted on a vertical rod 3 l which, in turn, is loosely mounted in a laterally projecting ear 32 (Fig. 6) on the rear face of the top of the standard iii. The top end of the rod is hooked over and engages a depression in the top face of a laterally projecting ear 33 on the offset portion ll of the bearing and its bottom end extends loosely through an opening 3G in thebase l (Figs. 3 and 6). At its top end, the spring 30 abuts the bottom face of the ear and at its bottom end, a collar 3% is threaded on the lower end of the rod 3! and held in adjusted position thereon by a set screw 36 (Fig. 2). The spring, be-

ing under compression, exerts a downward pressure through the rod M on the bearing 56 and this pressure may be varied by adjusting the collar on the rod. The hooked end of the rod SI may be locked to the ear33 by a bored bar 3? which is mounted and held in adjusted position on said rod for engaging the bottom face of the ear by a set screw 38 (Fig. 6). For limiting the downward movement of the rod 3!, a collar ii may be threaded on the lower end of said rod for engagement with the top face of the base ii. A set screw 4! (Fig. 2) holds the collar in adjusted position.

For limiting the movement of the movable roll toward the-fixed roll to prevent pressure being exerted upon certain parts of the work, :an adjustable stopis provided to limit the pivotal move ment of the bearing iii in a downward direction.

- One form of such step comprises a screw threaded through the top of a righ -angled plate sufiicient to take care of 46 fastened to the front face of the bearing if? by bolts All. The end of the screw engages the top edge of the front wall l2 and it may be adjusted by means of the bar handle 38.

For guiding a welt to the roll, a welt guide 59 in the form of an elongated casing of rectangular cross section is fixed to the arm portion iii of a bracket 52 which is fastened by a pair of screws 53 to the plate 45, which, in turn, is secured to the front face of the bearing it by the pair of bolts ii. The guide, therefore, moves with the bearing and the movable roll. To permit of a refined adjustment of the guide in various directions, the holes in the bracket for receiving the screws 53 are enlarged so that by loosening the said screws, the bracket may be adjusted thereon and be held in such position by the heads of the screws when they are tightened,

For gauging the work in its progress between the rolls to align the edge of the welt with the edge of the sole, I provide a rotatable gauge 65) which is in constant engagement with the inner sides of the two rolls and the edges of the welt and sole. The gauge is in the form of a roll 60 mounted and held on a vertical pin 6| by a screw 62 (Figs. 5 and '7), which pin has a reduced shank 53 mounted in a horizontal bar 54, which, in turn, has a reduced shank portion 55 mounted in a bore in the top of the standard iii and held thereon by a screw 6? threaded into its end. The face of the roll gauge 69 is of sufficient width to engage the edges of the work and to overlap and engage the inner sides of the pressure rolls (Fig. 5).

The machine may be operated by hand or by power, but is shown as being provided with a crank it having a handle ii for hand operation. The crank is fastened to a pinion 12, which is in mesh with the gear wheel 2i and is rotatably mounted on a short shaft 73 fixed in a collar I4 formed on the head of the standard iii, the pinion being held on the shaft by a washer 75 and key 18 inserted transversely through the end of the shaft.

The machine illustrated in the drawings is shown as adapted for attaching a particular form of welt to a sole, a cross section of the attached parts being shown in Figure 8, in which 80 designates the sole and Si, the welt. The latter is in the form of an elongated strip, having the outer portion 82' of its top face parallel with its bottom face and the inner portion 83 of said top face inclined or beveled to form a thin inner edge, Theumachine may be adapted, however, for laying welts of different cross-sectional form by providing the movable roll with an annular recess on face corresponding in oross-section to the cross section of the welt to be applied, but in each case, the recess should be somewhat less in depth than the thickness of the welt, so as to avoid directing any pressure on the sole itself.

In the preparation of these. parts for the machine, the engaging surraoes of the welt and sole are coated with a suitable cement which is allowed to become tacky, whereupon the parts are run through the machine to press them firmly together. in this operation, the movable roll first adjusted in relation to the fixed roll by manipulating the adjusting stop screw 55 so that the space between the fixed roll and the portion 23 of the movable roll will accommodate the sole,v which is then inserted with its shank portion between rolls in the position shown in Figure l. The end of the welt, which is prefera ly beveled, is then pushed through the guide 50 in between the rolls, and the machine is started by operating the crank to lay the welt around the margin of the fore part of the sole, which is guided and turned by the operator. The inner edge of the welt, at that portion which goes around the tee of the sole, is provided with a series of triangular notches to facilitate the curving of the welt to fit the curve of the toe.

I have found that by the use of a machine made in accordance with my invention, the welt is pressed to the sole smoothly and evenly and that the elimination of direct pressure upon the sole prevents any curvature of the sole during its progress through the machine, with the result that a permanent bond is established between the sole and the welt, a bond which is durable and which is not affected by long and hard use. I have found also that by rotating the movable roll at a somewhat greater speed than that of the lower roll, I get much better results than when the two rolls are rotated at the same speed, since the greater speed of the upper roll prevents the welt from creeping ahead during the laying process, which would tend to pull it away from the sole at the end of the laying operation.

It will also be observed that in the use of the machine, the screw stop is so adjusted that no part of the upper roll can in any event exert any pressure upon the sole, and when the sole and the welt are fed through the machine, with the welt lying in the recess in the upper roll, the upper roll is forced upwardly due to the thickness of the welt, which upward movement is resisted by the spring to exert the necessary pressure upon the welt alone, to secure firm adhesion between it and the sole.

It is to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the precise form of construction herein shown and described, since it may be embodied in other forms within the purview of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a pair of cooperating pressure rolls, one of said rolls being fixed and the other of said rolls being pivotally mounted axially for movement in relation to said fixed roll and having its face recessed to fit a welt, said recess being of less depth than the thickness of said welt, resilient means for forcing said movable roll toward said fixed roll for exerting pressure on the work and an adjustable stop for limiting the movement of said movable roll toward said fixed roll.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a pair of cooperating pressure rolls, one of said rolls being fixed and the other of said rolls being pivotally mounted axially for movement in relation to said fixed roll and having its face recessed to fit a welt, said recess being of less depth than the thickness of said welt, a spring for forcing said movable roll toward said fixed roll for exerting pressure on the work and an adjustable stop for limiting the movement of said movable roll toward said fixed roll.

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a pair of cooperating feeding pressure rolls, one of said rolls being fixed and the other of said rolls being mounted for movement in relation to said fixed roll and having its face recessed to fit a welt, a spring for yieldingly forcing said movable roll toward said fixed roll, said spring being adjustable to regulate the pressure exerted upon the work by said movable roll, and

r a stop for limiting the movement of said movable roll toward said fixed roll, said stop being adjustable to vary the normal distance between said two rolls.

4. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a pair of cooperating feeding pressure rolls, one of said rolls being movable toward and from the other of said rolls and having its face recessed to fit a welt, a spring for forcing said movable roll toward said fixed roll, said spring permitting the movement of said movable roll away from said fixed roll whenever the resistance of the work to pressure is greater than said spring pressure, said spring being adjustable to regulate the pressure exerted on the work by said movable roll, and a stop for limiting the movement of said movable roll toward the other of said rolls, said stop being adjustable for regulating the normal distance between the said two rolls.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a pair of cooperating pressure rolls, one of said rolls being movable toward and from the other of said rolls, said movable roll being recessed to fit a welt, said recess being of less depth than the thickness of said welt, a spring for forcing said movable roll toward said fixed roll, said spring permitting the movement of said movable roll away from said fixed roll whenever the resistance of the work to pressure is greater than said spring pressure, said spring being adjustable to regulate the pressure exerted on the work by said movable roll, and astop for limiting the movement of said movable roll toward the other of said rolls, said stop being adjustable for regulating the normal distance between the said two rolls.

6. In a machine for attaching a welt to a sole, the combination of a pair of cooperating pressure rolls, one of said rolls being fixed and the other being pivotally mounted axially for movement in relation to said fixed roll, said movable roll having its face recessed to fit the welt, said recess being of less depth than the thickness of said welt, resilient means for forcing said movable roll toward said fixed roll for exerting pressure on the welt, an adjustable stop for limiting the movement of said movable roll toward said fixed roll to avoid pressure on the sole, a guide for directing the welt to the recessed portion of said movable roll and means for operating said rolls to feed and press the work.

'7. In a machine for fastening together two pieces of previously cemented material, the com- .bination of a pair of cooperating pressure rolls,

one of said rolls being fixed and the other of said rolls being pivotally mounted axially for movement in relation to said fixed roll and having its face recessed tofit one of said pieces, said recess being of less depth than the thickness of said piece, resilient means for forcing said movable roll toward said fixed roll for exerting pressure on the work, an adjustable stop for limiting the movement of said movable roll toward said fixed roll, a guide for directing a welt to said roll, a rotary gauge for aligning the welt with a sole and means for operating said rolls to feed and press the work.

8. In a machine for fastening together two pieces ofpreviously cemented material, the combination of a pair of cooperating pressure rolls, one of said rolls being fixed and the other of said rolls being pivotally mounted axially for movement in relation to said fixed roll and having its face recessed to fit one of said pieces, said recess being of less depth than the thickness of said piece, a spring for yieldingly forcing said movable roll toward said fixedroll, said spring being adjustable to regulate the pressure exerted upon the work by said movable roll, a stop for limiting the movement of said movable roll toward said fixed roll, said stop being adjustable to vary the normal space between said two rolls, a guide casing. through which a welt isdirected to said rolls, a rotary gauge for aligning the welt with a sole and means for operating said rolls to feed and press the work.

9. In a machine for pressing together two pieces of cemented material, the combination of a pair of cooperating pressure rolls, one of said rolls being fixed and the other of said rolls being pivotally mounted axially for movement in relation to said fixed rolland having its face recessed to fit one of said two pieces of material, said recess being of less depth than the thickness of said piece to avoid pressure by said recessed roll on the other of said pieces, a spring for forcing said recessed roll toward said fixed roll for exerting pressure on the work and an adjustable stop for limiting the movement of said movable roll toward 10 said fixed roll.

ERNEST E. FIELD. 

